Pythagoras mentioned in Vedas?

[Lars Martin Fosse]

> I have followed with great interest the recent discussion on different
> flood stories in the ancient world.  In connection with the
> mentioning of Noah in the Bhavisys Purana I got to think of
> something.  Some time ago I read one book (which I since lost)
> entitled "Om Shalom."  The book was a dialogue between a person
> from the Hare Krishna movement and a Jewish rabbi.  Anyway, in
> the book there is related a story of how Pythagoras, the Greek
> philosopher and mathematician, went to India and met 12 brahmins
> who spoke to him in Greek.  Pythagoras got the name
> "Yavanacarya," teacher of the Yavanas.  I found this interesting but
> have never read anything else about this since.  Does anyone know
> about this?  Can anyone give me some references?  Is Pythagoras
> mentioned in the Vedas or Puranas?

Pythagoras is definitely not mentioned in the Vedas, not do I think that
he turns up in the Puranas. What you are referring to is a modern cultural
myth to the effect that P. (and the Greeks) got their mathematics from
India. This is a kind of counter-myth to the traditional European view
that the Indians got their mathematics from the Greeks. It would in fact
seem that Indians and Greeks got at least some of their mathematics from
Babylon, but there are no certain conclusions here.

Best regards,

Lars Martin  Fosse